Goodreads asked Terry M. Sater:

How do you get inspired to write?

Terry M. Sater When I began writing “The Nightmare of the Mekong,” about twenty-five years ago, it was titled “It Happened Long Ago,” after the poem in the book. The intent then, was to pass along a true history of the war and my part in it, to my family and their families, yet to come. It wasn’t because I did anything special. I also wanted to honor the men I served with.

The poem, “It Happened Long Ago,” was meant for my wife’s eyes, only. It began receiving widespread exposure only after my father showed me a poem he had written for one of his famous homemade Christmas cards. I sat down and wrote out “It Happened Long Ago” from memory, on a yellow legal pad my father had in his bedroom. Over the days and weeks to follow, dad showed people my poem. It had an emotional impact on those who read it. At that point, I started sharing it.

I had to set aside my manuscript for many years, because my own emotions were too raw. Working on the book jazzed up my PTSD, although I didn’t know that’s what it was, at the time.

I became a grandfather almost twelve years ago. As my grandchildren began to grow, I began thinking about the fact that I had to finish my work on the book, because I wanted them to know the story, before I was gone.

I finished the book in 2017. When we picked it up at the printer, my wife sat in our car, held it to her chest, and cried. She never expected it to become a real “book.” My daughter, Dina, always thought she would simply have a copy of the three ring binders I made of the manuscripts.

I’m still editing and adding to the book, trying to keep it up to date and adding stories from the remarkable men I served with, as they come to light. I am driven by a quote from Lieutenant General Hal Moore, on the Dedication page of the book;

“There is no such thing as closure for soldiers who have survived a war. They have an obligation, a sacred duty, to remember those who fell in battle beside them all their days and to bear witness to the insanity that is war.”

Yesterday, people read a total of 3,348 pages of the 508 page e-book Kindle Unlimited version of “The Nightmare of the Mekong,” online. That blows me away. Hard copy sales and e-book sales surpassed my expectations. The experience has been very gratifying.

My oldest grandson recently told me that his fifth grade teacher taught his class that the Vietnam War was very bloody, and that "you killed civilians." With the knowledge that we cannot depend on others to tell our story, it becomes more important for those of us who fought the Vietnam War to tell future generations its true history. There are too many people out there distorting it.

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